Rating: 
Consisting of three ladies each established in their own field of the music industry, Seeker Lover Keeper fundamentally sounds like a good idea. Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby and Sally Seltmann are currently some of the biggest Australian songwriters, previously writing songs for artists like Fiest, and touring with Lykke Li, The Tallest Man on Earth, Broken Social Scene and more. However, it takes more than apt songwriting and knowing a lot of great musicians to be great yourself, which poses the biggest question: do these credentials add up to a good album.
The self-titled album begins on a soft note; gentle strumming of guitar pieced together with ghastly “oohs,” before the sweet vocals jump into the song. First up, “Bring Me Back,” lets the audience find their way to this band and their elegant charms before they pick things up, serving as the getting your toes wet experience for the listener so they can jump in. On the next number “Light All My Lights,” some synthesizer gives the tune a little bit more of a life than the first song, but the real first standout isn’t apparent until the third track “Even Though I’m a Woman.” The piano that sounds at the beginning of the track carries it along, but the vocals, a touch raspy and whispery, yet dangerously sugared are, of course, the main focus and I’m reminded a bit of Regina Spektor in this piano/vocals combo. Some great harmonies can be found here, and the main chorus will have you singing along, or trying to, as it’s not very easy to keep up.
Throughout the whole album, the ladies change places as lead singer, writing songs for each other. Along with this passing of lead, there is also a transition from the overall sound of the band, which keeps the group from falling into a pattern, but also prevents one solid identity to be formed for these ladies and if you are a person who isn’t okay with change, then this may not be an album for you. However, I find most of the variety to be enjoyable and interesting, keeping me guessing as to what these power females will do next to change things up a bit. My favorite transition is the one from the edgy and rhythmic “Everytime” to the soft and wispy “We Will Know What It Is,” that follows immediately. Here, you can see the combined talent of this group.
Seeker Lover Keeper do not disappoint their credentials; you have some brilliant writing on this album, and delicate tracks that will catch your ear. As far as a first album, you get essentially what you would expect—a good start.
I won’t lie to you. Every time I hear Trevor Sensor, I think of Tallest Man on Earth. But, that being said, I still quite like his sound, and having seen him live, he seems to have even more of an edge to his performance and attitude. If you listen closely, you can hear brief moments where he unleashes that attitude just a touch.He also possesses a slightly grim perspective on things; it is the one thing that does set him apart, making his songs worthy of your listening enjoyment. This looks to be a one-off digital single being released by Jagjaguwar on May 27th.
Well, everyone else is doing it, so why don’t we? We’re going to toss out our top five albums of the year, except we’ll be doing it with our four main contributors, so hopefully that’ll mix things up a bit. Obviously, we’re only half-way through the year, so things are subject to change, and by things I mean our minds.
